Archive for month: December, 2017

It’s that time of the year again. It’s time for celebrations, reflections as we look forward to a magical festive season ahead and future opportunities in 2018.

Global Hamilton Connect is really grateful for all the opportunities connections and friendships that we’ve made over 2017 in Hamilton. We have been truly fortunate to have worked with the volunteers, supporters and members we’ve met at our socials, hikes and professional development events this past year, as we look forward to continue our collaborations for a better #HamOnt in 2018.

A few of our past and present Global Hamilton Connect executive members came together for a dinner celebrating our fourth year. It is wonderful to see how far our executive members have come! Including our advisors, we come from 13 different countries but continue to be united and sharing the passion for our adopted home town of Hamilton. Our mission: To raise awareness helping international students and newcomers to resources and networks that increases their chances to succeed, showcasing employment and volunteer opportunities by facilitating partnerships with local organizations and employers.

Reflecting on the past year, I’d like to take this opportunity to showcase some of our accomplishments. In collaboration with the Bay Area Restoration Council, our group explored the beautiful waterfront trails in a guided walking tour at the Hamilton Waterfront this past September, having also explored the Christie Lake Conservation Area over the summer.

We also ventured into advocacy, with some of our team members engaging in research related to international students and their barriers to immigrate to Canada. Working with McMaster Research Shop, they developed a policy brief outlining the policy barriers and met with local decision-makers on this issue, including Mayor Fred Eisenberger , MP Filomena Tassi, McMaster University President Patrick Deane, and Mohawk College Dean Keith Monrose. For more information, see this commentary piece in The Hamilton Spectator.

It has been encouraging to have the support from The Government of Ontario being selected for a Multicultural Community Capacity Grant to help support our work with international students and newcomers in Hamilton as we look forward to another exciting year in 2018.

On behalf of our team at Global Hamilton Connect, we want to wish you all an enjoyable holidays ahead and wish you get to enjoy the festivities with your family and/or loved ones and get to explore some exciting festive events happening in and around our Ambitious City of Hamilton.